Welcome
Welcome to our virtual open house – we thank you for your participation.
Today you will learn more about the proposed County Highway 43 improvements that will improve safety and traffic flow from Highway 10 to the Elk River Bridge in Big Lake, Minnesota.
About this
Virtual Open House
The entire session should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Continue clicking through to learn more about the project and the proposed improvements. Use the navigation bar on the left side of the screen by clicking on the text to advance to the next slide or use the arrows along the bottom of the screen to go back and forth between slides.
How to Participate:
Submit a comment at any point by clicking the comment button at the top right of your screen. You may close the form to continue through the slides. Once finished, please make sure to hit "Submit" to confirm that your comment is sent to the project team.
Project Area Issues
Sherburne County is developing a preliminary design to improve safety, capacity, and operations along County Highway 43 from Highway 10 to the Elk River Bridge in Big Lake. This area provides access to area schools, police, fire, commercial, retail businesses and residential housing in the City of Big Lake.
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This stretch of County Highway 43 has safety, capacity, and operations issues that need to be addressed to keep the community moving into the future. Several key issues have been identified in this area, including:
Inefficient intersection operations at
County Highway 43 and Highway 10
that are further constrained by the close proximity of Rose Dr. Delays
are expected to increase as traffic grows in the area and future
development occurs.
Increase in traffic at the County Highway
43/Glenwood Ave./205th Ave.
intersection during peak drop off and pick-up at area Big Lake schools
- More traffic in the area related to growth
and future development east of Minnesota Ave.
Inconsistent pedestrian and bicycle
connections to the local schools
Proposed Improvements
This 1-mile stretch of County Highway 43 is anticipated to be fully reconstructed in 2022. At the same time, the county wants to improve traffic flow and increase safety for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
Proposed Improvements
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Fully reconstruct approximately 1 mile of highway
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Add a right turn lane from southbound County Highway 43 to westbound
Highway 10
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Improve traffic flow by adding a raised median from Highway 10 to
Minnesota Ave and changing access to/from Martin Ave and County
Highway 43.
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Design this stretch of County Highway 43 for future development east
of Minnesota Ave.
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Add sidewalk on the east side of County Highway 43 for pedestrians
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Construct a mini roundabout at the County Highway 43/Glenwood
Ave./205th Ave. intersection to help with intersection operations
The City will be
using the reconstruction project to extend watermain and sanitary
sewer service from Glenwood Ave/205th Ave south to Minnesota Ave.- Click to the next slide to see the initial design concept!
Project Schedule
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Initial Design Concept
View the improvements along County Highway 43 between Highway 10 and the Elk River Bridge. See below for some of the proposed changes along this stretch of highway or open a detailed PDF of the layout.
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Mini Roundabouts
Mini roundabouts are most often used on urban and suburban roads, similar to County Highway 43. They are smaller than traditional roundabouts and are designed so the center island has a slight lip to it to direct passenger vehicles to drive around the island. The lip, however, is low enough to allow larger trucks and school buses to safely drive over it when extra space is needed to make turns. Standard medians will also run through the middle of the road to divide the highway between intersections, same as a standard roundabout.
Benefits of a mini roundabout
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Smaller radius reduces the cost and construction impacts compared to a
traditional roundabout
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Provides the shortest delay during school pick-up and drop-off times
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Effectively slows speeds
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No lost wait times (i.e. vehicles don’t need to wait for a green
light)
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Substantially shortens pedestrian crossing distances when compared to
typical multi-lane intersections
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Crash severities are typically very low
How does a mini roundabout compare to a traffic signal?
A mini roundabout supports a constant and efficient traffic flow, while a traffic signal may increase the delay that County Highway 43 and connected side streets experience today, especially if they hit a red light. Additionally, traffic signals do not reduce crashes or slow traffic.
Example mini roundabout
Check out the before and after pictures of a mini roundabout in Shakopee to see what this could potentially look like in this area.
Stay Connected
Thank you for your interest in the County Highway 43 Improvements Project.
Share
It’s important for the community to better understand the design concepts currently being considered for County Highway 43 in Big Lake. Please pass along the link to this virtual open house to family, friends, and coworkers that use this stretch of County Highway 43.
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In-Person Participation (Appointment Only)
Schedule an appointment with the project team to discuss the project and share your input.
- When: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- Where: Sherburne County Government Center Public Works located at 13880 Business Center Drive NW, Suite 100, Elk River, MN
- Email tess.heller@hdrinc.com to schedule your one-on-one appointment with the project team. Appointments are required for in-person participation.
Tell us your thoughts
To submit a general comment or question for the project team, click on the comment button in the top right corner of your screen.
Learn more
Click here for more information about the project and to sign up to receive email updates.
Contact the Project Team
David Roedel, P.E.
Assistant Public Works Director/Deputy County Engineer
David.Roedel@co.sherburne.mn.us
763-765-3352